Once you’re both married and your lives relax into being together, you will look at your wedding photographs to remind you of the amazing day you created. So getting the right photographer to shoot your wedding day in the way you want is vital.

Choosing a Professional will give you peace of mind, knowing your wedding day is in safe hands. It’s often tempting to choose an art student or a friend who is an amateur photographer. They certainly may know how to take great pictures, but it’s likely that they won’t know how to organise people and have experience shooting weddings. There are only a few things that you will be left with after your wedding day, your rings and your photography to look back on.

Liking your Photographer is really important. This person is likely to be someone who you have contact with throughout the time leading up to your wedding and of course on your day, so you want to both feel comfortable with them and know that they will get on well with your wedding guests.

Photographic Style is something unique to each photographer, so checking their images on their website before you see them is important. You may see photographers describe themselves as “reportage” which is a documentary style, this can also be described as “natural”. Some photographers are “traditional” with their focus on very posed shots. Think about how you will feel on the day and choose the style of photography that will go with your ideas.

What do they offer? Choose a photographer who will give you the package you want for the price you want to pay. Each couple will have a different set of priorities, some will be about getting the things you want within the package some will be about price. Just like most things you do get what you pay for. A mid range price of around £1000 for disc packages and up to £2000 for a package with a coffee table Wedding Book. Some photographers also shoot Engagement Shoots , also called pre wedding shoots which can be a great way of getting comfortable in front of the camera. You may want to find out if they can provide a Photo-Booth at your Evening Reception. Other photographers make Wedding Invitations and Thank-you cards which makes your life easier as you have less people to organise.

Meeting your photographer is really important before you book them, so make sure they are willing to do this, then you can gage how well you will all get on. It’s a good idea to go through your Wedding Day timeline with them as they will know timings of how long things will take. Ask if they are willing to do a recce at your wedding venues so you can all see where you want your group and couple shots taken. The more planning like this you do the more relaxed and confident you will feel on your day.

The legal stuff is important to check. See if they are covered with professional indemnity insurance which will protect you against loss of data and negligence also whether they have public liability insurance in case anyone is injured by the photographers equipment.

If you want Getting Ready photographs you may want to consider whether you would feel comfortable having a male photographer, if not you may want to choose a female photographer for this. Often male photographers have female second shooters to do this for them, but you may want to meet them as well beforehand.

Starting your search for a photographer early is important, this will then give you the range of photographers to choose from. Once your venue is booked your photographer is the next to get in place as they get booked up years ahead.

Checking the qualifications and experience of your photographer is really important. How long have they been photographing weddings and is this what they do full time? The difference between photographers can be huge in terms of experience and qualifications, so trust your gut instincts and if you meet a photographer you trust with your day they may be the right person for you.

And finally, sealing the deal with your photographer will need you to check about getting the contract between you right. Make sure you know exactly what you’re getting within your contract and there aren’t any hidden costs you weren’t expecting like if the wedding runs over.